With newly published research suggesting one in three UK families has no critical illness, income protection or life insurance, Bright Grey is urging advisors to ensure customers receive the right level of protection for their family.

The specialist protection wing of the Royal London Group revealed statistics indicating four out of five families have no critical illness cover in place, while 85 per cent have no life cover for the 'lower' or 'non-earner' in the family.

Bright Grey will help advisors to provide families with the best level of cover by offering them with support materials as part of its awareness campaign.

Kevin Stevens, head of sales, explained that the numbers of under-insured people were not surprising because the "life protection gap", which stands at £2.3 trillion according to Swiss Re, has not changed for three years.

"We believe that many of those parents who don't have cover don't even know they're leaving their families at risk - and that's where advisers can really help," he said.

"It's clear that people really need advice to make sure they're protecting their families adequately and they don't find themselves in dire straits if things unexpectedly go wrong."